Electrodeposition of magnetic CoPd thin films: Influence of plating condition

The manufacture and properties evaluation of Co-based thin film alloys are extensively studied because of their magnetic properties that make them a critical element in many different applications and devices. Therefore the electrodeposition of CoPd alloy thin films was studied from a chloride bath containing glycine as additive. The cobalt content in the CoPd deposits varied from 6.4 to 94.0 at% by controlling the pH and [Co2+]/[Pd2+] ratio in the bath. Current efficiencies were independent of the solution pH and bath composition. The morphology of the deposits depended on the applied current density: current densities higher than 50 mA cm−2 resulted in deposits with a typical cauliflower morphology. For current densities lower than 25 mA cm−2 cracks was observed. The XRD measurements showed that all CoPd alloys were amorphous. The magnetic properties for CoPd alloys revealed that the coercivity (Hc) values ranged from 84 up to 555 Oe and the magnetic saturation (Ms) from 0 to 1.73 T.